Commonly, when working in a hazardous environment, which may be oxygen-deficient or which may expose occupants to chemical or biological toxins, pathogens, or other hazards, a firefighter, a rescue worker, or a chemical or laboratory worker wears a protective garment, which is made from sheets of fluid-impervious films or from sheets of fluid-impervious fabrics. Such protective garments are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,272,851, No. 4,864,654, and 6,364,980, which disclose suitable films, fabrics, and laminates and the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
As exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,654, it is known for a worker wearing a protective garment, as described above, to wear a self-contained breathing apparatus, which comprises an air bottle, among other elements, and all elements of which are worn within the protective garment. Further, it is known for a worker wearing a protective garment, as described above, also to wear other gear of diverse types, as exemplified by gloves, dosimeters, and breathing apparatus.
Usually, after having been used in hazardous environments, protective garments made from sheets of fluid-impervious films are regarded as disposable and are not cleaned, decontaminated, or reconditioned. In any event, a person preparing to be in a hazardous environment needs to don a protective garment that is new or that has been cleaned, decontaminated, and reconditioned properly, not a protective garment that has been used before either in a hazardous environment or in a training environment but that has not been cleaned, decontaminated, and reconditioned properly.